


Best Dressed

by prissygirl



Series: 100 Follower Promptathon [6]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dark Castle, F/M, One Shot, Rumbelle - Freeform, enchanted forest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-05-05
Packaged: 2018-03-29 04:28:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3882334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prissygirl/pseuds/prissygirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Rumple does not throw Belle out after the kiss. She decides to temporarily leave the Dark Castle to have an adventure (help her friend Snow retake her kingdom). They both decide it is best not to mention to anyone the nature of their relationship. While with Snow, Charming, Red, etc., an argument ensues over how to defeat Regina. Amidst the mess, someone calls the Dark One. At his arrival, everyone is puzzled as to why Belle and his outfits match.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Best Dressed

The war council room in Snow White and Charming’s castle was a bustle of activity. Every one of their allies from the Seven Dwarves to Red Riding Hood was there, assisting the pair as they began to draw up battle plans to invade the Evil Queen’s castle.

The round table in the center of the room was in disarray. Various maps and scrolls were strewn about the table haphazardly, reflecting the chaos within the rest of the room.

Only Belle seemed unfazed. She had only met Snow and Charming recently, but they were quickly coming to rely on her as one of their most trusted allies.

The entire day had been spent discussing various plans of attack and it was clear to Belle that the pressure was beginning to get to them all. She could hear some of the others speaking in raised voices beside her while she bent over a map, examining a potential weak spot in Regina’s defenses. Everyone had been arguing the same points over and over again for the past few hours, so Belle was only half listening to their conversation at this point.

“We’ve run out of options,” Snow said. “I don’t think we have a choice anymore.” Her voice was firm and decisive. “It’s time.”

“Time for what?” Belle asked absentmindedly, eyes still focused on the map before her.

“To call the Dark One.”

Belle’s eyes widened and she looked up, a plea on her lips to stop Snow. But she was too late.

“We summon thee, Rumpelstiltskin. Rumpelstiltskin, Rumpel – “

“Yes, yes, I’m here. You can stop with that ‘three times’ nonsense.”

The voice came from behind Belle and she couldn’t help but let a small smile escape her lips at the sound of his voice. The rest of the room didn’t seem as overjoyed at his presence, though. There were multiple gasps and Belle was pretty sure she saw one of the dwarves – probably Dopey – fall down in a faint. She rolled her eyes at her friends’ shock. They had all had dealings with Rumpelstiltskin before, so she didn’t understand their surprise at his theatrics. She knew none of them were overly fond of his quirky behavior – one of several reasons she had decided to keep them in the dark about her history with Rumpelstiltskin.

Taking a moment to compose herself, lest she give her feelings away, Belle turned around to face Rumpelstiltskin.

A silent curse escaped her lips as her gaze fell upon him. Rumpelstiltskin was wearing a burgundy tunic, laced up the front, with leather sleeves of the same color. He wore a tan undershirt and tight, figure-hugging brown pants. Both his leather belt and gloves were decorated in metal studs, giving the rather subdued look a bit of flair.

It was also the exact outfit Belle was wearing.

As if in unison, everyone else in the room turned to stare at her, their gazes either shocked or accusatory.

She grinned sheepishly. “So I may have neglected to mention a few things about my past.”

It was a bit of an understatement, at best. Belle could probably write a series of books on the matter of her and Rumpelstiltskin.

Their relationship was rather unconventional, which was certainly fitting considering the man she was in love with. It had been several months since that fateful day when she returned to the Dark Castle and kissed him, but she remembered it perfectly. Rumple had torn away from her, afraid she was trying to trick him into giving up his power. When he had commanded her to leave the castle, she had gotten as far as the entryway before realizing that she didn’t want to go. He had come down an hour later to find her calmly dusting the Great Hall, as if nothing had changed. After much arguing and emphatic gesturing on his part, he’d finally broken down, revealing the truth to her about Bae and his need to keep the Dark One’s curse to find him.

Once their feelings were out in the open, not acting upon them became harder than either had initially thought. After two maddening weeks of dancing around each other, they decided that some physical space between them might be helpful for the time being. While Rumple was following some new leads to find his son, Belle would take the opportunity to have some adventures of her own. Having no love for Regina after what she had tried to do to them, Belle quickly found herself allying with Snow and Charming to help bring the Evil Queen down. With the vast amount of books and knowledge contained in Rumpelstiltskin’s castle, she had proved herself to be a valuable asset to their side during the war.

Though they had agreed that they needed space, neither Rumple nor she wanted to stay apart for too long. Nobody in the castle seemed to notice when she would disappear for part of an afternoon or sneak away at night, usually bringing back a new book or two with her on her return. There had actually been such a rendezvous planned for later that evening. Rumple had said he had a small surprise for her and had asked her to wear what he affectionately called her “warrior outfit.”

Now she knew why. Though she doubted anyone else could see it, Belle saw the hint of surprise in Rumpelstiltskin’s eyes at her presence. She had told him she was going to be out visiting some of the markets that day before she met with him that night in the village. Snow had called the emergency meeting this morning however, and Belle had not thought it would make a difference in their plans, as long as she could sneak out later.

However, none of that mattered at the moment, as everyone continued to gawk at her and Rumpelstiltskin, their heads moving back and forth between the two comically.

“Why are you wearing the same clothes?” Red finally asked, her eyes wide with shock.

“Hadn’t you heard? This is the latest fashion.” Rumple glanced at Red’s clothes and narrowed his eyes. “Capes are so last season, dearie.”

“Are you the Dark One’s – “ Belle could tell that the word ‘whore’ was on the tip of Snow’s tongue, but the queen caught herself in time – “mistress?”

“Certainly not!”  Rumpelstiltskin trilled, pretending to be affronted. He slid up beside Belle. Though he appeared relaxed, she could feel he was as tightly coiled as a snake, ready to strike should anyone threaten her. 

“He’s a perfect gentleman,” Belle confirmed.

Rumple leaned over to whisper in her ear. “For now.”

She shivered at his words and tried to bring her attention back to the many disgruntled people before her.

“Look, I know it’s not what you were expecting, but can’t you at least see the bright side of all of this?” Her eyes sought out each of them in return. Snow, like many in the room, still seemed too horrified to look her straight in the eyes. Charming seemed wary, but looked like he was willing to listen. Red just seemed plain curious, her eyes lingering just a bit too long on Rumpelstiltskin’s skintight pants for Belle to be comfortable with.

“And that would be?” Charming asked after a long silence.

Belle smirked, wrapping her arm around Rumpelstiltskin’s. “Well, I could probably negotiate you a much better deal.”

Rumpelstiltskin shifted beside her, but didn’t take his arm away. “They still have to pay something,” he said, gesturing to Snow and Charming. “Magic isn’t free, as I seem to have to keep reminding certain people.”

She patted his arm. “I’m sure we can come up with something everyone can live with. If not, I can always add it to my tab.”

“You’re sure racking up a lot of debt with me,” Rumple mumbled grumpily.

Belle smiled and for a moment, everyone and everything else in the room disappeared, her attention only on the man before her. “Well, does it really matter? I have forever to pay it off, don’t I?”

A flicker of a smile flashed over his face briefly, gone before anyone but Belle could see it. “Yes, I suppose you do, sweetheart.”

Rumpelstiltskin turned to address the rest of the group, once again the trickster they all knew. He rubbed his hands together gleefully. “Well, what are you all standing around here gawking for? We have ourselves an evil queen to thwart.” 


End file.
